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Rural  School  Consolidation 

Prepared  by 

in  Missouri       harold  w.  fogh 


Adviser  in  Rural  Education 


The  First  School  Transportation  Wagon  in  Missouri 


DECEMBER,    1913 


>  &  -zrv  y 


PUBLISHED   BY  THE  FIRST  DISTRICT  NORMAL  SCHOOL 
ISSUED  QUARTERLY:     JUNE,   SEPTEMBER,  DECEMBER,  MARCH 


Entered  June  25,  1002,  at  Kirksville,  Mo.,  as  second  class  matter,  under  Act  of  Congress  of 

July,  1894. 

SOUTHERN    BRANCH 

UNIVERSITY  of  CALiFOFT 

libra: 

LOS    A 


o 


INTRODUCTION 

This  manual  is  intended  as  a  working  guide  for  teachers, 
school  officers,  and  patrons  who  are  seeking  to  reorganize  their 
schools  into  consolidated  districts  as  graded  schools  and  rural 
high  schools,  under  the  provisions  of  recent  legislative  enactment . 
The  purpose  has  been  to  make  a  clear  statement  of  the  intimate 
relation  of  strong,  well-organized  rural  schools  to  the  welfare  of 
rural  life  in  general;  to  point  out  the  particular  advantages  of 
consolidation,  without  in  any  way  covering  over  the  disadvan- 
tages that  the  system  may  have;  and  to  explain  in  detail  the  law 
and  the  steps  that  must  be  taken  in  order  to  gain  the  benefit  of 
the  new  system,  and  the  state  aid  for  building  purposes  and  school 
maintenance  offered  under  it. 

It  is  quite  clear  to  the  average  man  that  the  present  unit  of 
school  organization  is  quite  too  small  for  best  results.  From  a 
business  point  of  view,  indeed,  it  is  so  wasteful  that  sound  prin- 
ciples of  economy  demand  a  reorganization. 

While  our  civilization  was  in  the  pioneer  stage  the  one-room 
school  answered  our  purpose  well  enough,  but  today  things  are 
different.  The  gradual  transition  in  rural  life  towards  real  sci- 
entific farming,  together  with  the  many  perplexing  problems 
brought  into  being  by  shift  in  rural  population  occasioned  by  the 
industrial  call  of  the  city  and  the  attraction  of  cheap  western 
lands,  have  placed  new,  grave  responsibilities  upon  the  school. 
No  retarded  weakling  school  can  furnish  the  educated  leadership 
just  now  needed  in  the  open  country.  The  old  school,  in  very 
fact,  is  responsible  for  much  of  the  present  "ineffective  farming, 
lack  of  ideals,  and  drift  to  town." 

Consolidation  of  schools  is  no  experiment.  It  is  proving 
successful  in  every  section  of  the  country.  No  school  that  has 
tried  consolidation  has  ever  gone  back  to  the  old  way.  In  Mis- 
souri the  old  leakage  and  waste  have  run  quite  long  enough.  It 
harbingers  new  and  better  things  to  see  our  school  officials  and 
patrons  study,  agitate,  and  plan  as  they  are  doing  throughout  the 
state  at  the  present  time.  Word  comes  almost  daily  from  some 
new  proposed  consolidation  district.  Scores  of  these  will  be 
voted  on  during  the  coming  spring.  But  now  that  consolida- 
tion IS  COMING  TO  OUR  STATE,  WILL  IT  APPEAR  IN  ITS  BEST  FORM? 

This  must  be  our  greatest  concern  for  the  immediate  future.     Let 

2 


LB 

L. 

friends  of  the  movement  be  on  the  alert  to  prevent  every  form  of 
cheap  consolidation,  where  the  sole  excuse  seems  to  be  a  reduction 
of  taxes.  However,  where  quality  and  small  expense  can  be 
coupled  through  the  elimination  of  waste  the  problem  appears  in 
quite  a  different  light.  The  Missouri  farmer  is  beginning  to 
spend  more  money  for  school  purposes,  and  he  desires  to  spend  il 
to  the  best  advantage.  The  great  reason  for  consolidation  of 
schools  in  Missouri  must  be  to  give  our  farming  population  a 
complete  system  of  schools  doing  both  elementary  and  high  school 
work,  and  doing  this  work  so  well  that  children  shall  no  longer  be 
obliged  to  go  to  town  to  prepare  for  their  life  work. 

The  First  District  Normal  School  wishes  to  be  of  as  greal 
assistance  as  possible  to  Missouri  people  in  this  campaign  for 
better  schools.  To  this  end  the  present  manual  is  sent  out.  It 
is  requested  that  it  be  studied  carefully  and  impartially.  If 
speakers  from  this  school  shall  be  desired  to  assist  in  crystallizing 
popular  sentiment  for  consolidation  and  the  building  of  rural 
high  schools,  all  such  requests  will  be  honored  so  far  as  our  speakers 
are  available. 


I 


Consolidated  School  at  Satjk  Centre,  Minnesota 
This  is  oik'  of  the  many  great  schools  which  are  rapidly  transforming  country  life  condi- 
tions in  the  "North  Star"  state. 


A  GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  SUBJECT 

What  Consolidation  Contemplates. — It  is  a  plan  to  recon- 
struct our  rural  schools  on  a  new  foundation  which  will  re-estab- 
lish the  ancient  principle  of  "equal  rights  to  all".  It  contemplates 
abolishing  all  the  old  district  lines,  reorganizing  a  number  of  small 
districts  under  one  new  board  of  six  men  who  shall  have  charge  of 
all  school  affairs  within  the  district.  This  reorganization  may  be 
for  the  purpose  of  abandoning  all  the  small  schools  within  the 
district  and  the  maintenance  instead  of  one  central  school;  or,  if 
the  voters  so  desire,  it  may  mean  the  continuation  of  all  the  small 
schools  as  before — although  now  under  one  board  for  all — and 
the  establishment  of  a  rural  high  school  somewhere  within  the 
district  for  the  advanced  pupils  only. 

There  can  be  no  question,  however,  that  of  the  two  kinds 
of  schools  permitted  under  the  new  law,  the  consolidated  school, 
pure  and  simple,  will  prove  under  ordinary  conditions  both  the 
least  expensive  and  most  satisfactory.  This  has  been  proved  by 
its  history  throughout  the  United  States  as  a  whole.  It  will 
forever  put  an  end  to  the  box-car  schoolhouse,  dilapidated  and 
unsightly,  with  its  faulty  lighting  and  ventilation,  and  general 
lack  in  sanitary  appliances.  A  large  well-built  and  sanitary  struc- 
ture will  take  the  place  of  the  several  small  houses,  set  in  large 
grounds — five  or  more  acres  are  recommended — which  shall 
supply  the  workers  with  school  garden  and  the  necessary  experi- 
mental plots.  For  these  are  to  be  farmers'  schools,  not  schools  for 
the  training  of  city  children. 

Great  Waste  Under  the  Old  System. ---The  writer  has 
made  a  careful  study  of  several  hundred  school  districts  in  North 
Missouri  with  a  special  reference  to  attendance  and  interest. 
Bad  roads,  cold,  unattractive  and  unsanitary  buildings,  poorly 
sustained  interest  by  reason  of  indifferent  teaching,  etc.  have 
actually  resulted  in  a  waste  of  forty  per  cent,  of  school  energy. 
That  is  to  say,  of  all  the  children  of  school  age  actually  enrolled, 
only  sixty  per  cent,  when  averaged  up,  get  the  benefits  offered  by 
the  school.  This  does  not  even  consider  the  fact  that  under  the 
old  system  both  boys  and  girls  quit  school  long  before  they  are 
ready  to.  And,  bear  this  in  mind,  ninety-five  percent,  of  these 
children,  so  early  to  leave  school,  never  get  away  to  higher  schools. 

Suppose  that  a  Missouri  farmer  should  haul  his  milk  to  the 
creamery,   and  day  after  day  spill   fifty   per  cent,  of  it    without 

1 


raising  a  hand  to  stop  the  waste?  Could  he  continue  to  do  busi- 
ness in  that  way?  And,  yet,  is  this  milk  business  of  greater  im- 
portance than  the  education  of  those  who  some  day  will  inherit 
the  farm,  cows,  and  all?  A  record  kept  of  consolidated  schools 
shows  that  increased  interest  in  school  work  and  improved  attend- 
ance due  to  transportation  and  sanitary  biddings  may  decrease 
the  waste  almost  to  the  vanishing  point.  Thus,  for  example, 
twenty  consolidated  schools  in  Indiana  show  a  per  cent,  attend- 
ance of  almost  98  for  a  year  of  nine  months.  This  indicates  the 
real  saving  under  the  new  system. 


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$1,496. 
A  Pyramid  of  Dollars,  representing  the  average  cost  to  graduate 
a  pupil  from  the  eighth  grade  in  all  rural  school  districts  in  Mon- 
trose County,  Colorado,  during  the  eight  years  1905  to  1912  inclusive. 

Illustrations  to  the  Point. — Above  is  shown  a  Pyramid  of 
Dollars,  which  is  a  graphic  illustration  from  Montrose  County, 
Colorado,  of  the  kind  of  waste  that  has  been  going  on  for  years 
in  the  country  schools  of  the  whole  United  States.  Montrose 
( Jounty  is  one  of  the  best  counties  of  Colorado.  There  are  mam- 
counties  in  Missouri  that  would  show  a  worse  condition  if  statistics 
were  at  hand.  A  careful  survey  has  been  made  of  all  the  rural 
schools  of  Montrose  County,  covering  a  period  of  eight  years,  and 

5 


it  shows  that  the  schools  have  been  so  unattractive  and  have  ap- 
pealed so  little  to  the  children  that  they  have  been  "spilling out" 
all  along  the  eight  year  course  that  they  should  have  been  in 
school,  and  with  these  results  that  it  has  actually  cost  the  county 
$1,496  for  every  boy  or  girl  who  has  stuck  to  the  schools  long- 
enough  to  get  through! 

The  following  table  is  taken  from  School  District  No.  23, 
Larimer  County,  Colorado,  and  shows  that  in  eight  years  the  dis- 
trict did  not  graduate  a  single  pupil  from  the  schools,  and  it  spent 
$4,313  at  its  failure.  This  is  "spilling  our  educational  milk" 
with  a  vengeance!  And  we  do  little  better  in  many  Missouri  dis- 
tricts under  the  small  school  system. 

THE  RECORD  FOR  EIGHT  YEARS. 

CENSUS  ENROLLMENT  AVERAGE  DAILY       EIGHTH  GRADE 

ATTENDANCE  GRADUATES 

1905  43  24  16  0 

1906  46  27  17  0 

1907  51  37  15  0 

1908  54  29  19  0 

1909  54  47  23  0 

1910  40  42  23  0 

1911  33  36  27  0 

1912  31  32  25  0 

Average  43  34  20  0 

This  District  spent  $4,313.  and  did  not  graduate  a  pupil  from  the 
eighth  grade  in  eight  years. 

The  following  table  emphasizes  this  same  point  in  a  most 
graphic  manner.  It  was  compiled  by  N.  C.  Macdonald,  State 
Inspector  for  Consolidated  and  Rural  Schools  in  North  Dakota. 
It  shows  the  per  cent,  of  pupils  completing  the  eighth  grade  and 
the  high  school  for  the  entire  state  of  North  Dakota.  Mr.  Mac- 
donald gives  this  as  a  vital  reason  for  giving  country  children  their 
own  strong  schools: 

(a  )    For  Eighth  Grade — 

Per  cenl . 

1.  Country  Boys  (homes  on  farms — 1913 7 

2.  Country  Girls 12 

3.  City  Boys  (1912) 50 

4      City  Girls .    SO 

(b)    For  High  School— (1912) 

Country  Boys i 

Country  ( !irls  li 

3.  City  Boys 12* 

4.  ( 'it  v  ( '.iris 25 

6 


History  of  Consolidation. — This  manual  does  not  permit 
of  any  lengthy  discussion  of  the  history  of  consolidation.  A  few 
facts  must  therefore  suffice:  Consolidation  was  introduced  in 
New  England  more  than  forty  years  ago,  because  of  the  gradual 
exodus  to  the  cities  and  the  West.  Children  have  been  conveyed 
to  school  at  public  expense  in  this  section  of  states  since  1809. 
Other  states  westward  have  wisely  followed  New  England's  ex- 
ample, thereby  solving  a  very  serious  problem.  The  system  is 
now  operative  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in  forty-three  or  more 
states.  Some  states  in  our  Middle  West  have  almost  put  an  end 
to  the  small  school.     Thus  Ohio  has  hundreds  of  consolidated 


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Judging  Stock,  Farmers'  Short  Course,  Sauk  Centre,  Minnesota 
The  Minnesota  Consolidated  and  Associated  Schools  meet   the  needs  not  alone  oi   the 
children  of  school  age,  but  also  the  needs  of  their  older  brothers  and  sisters,  fathers  and  mothers 


schools.  Indiana  heads  the  list  with  more  than  six  hundred. 
Michigan,  Illinois,  Iowa,  Nebraska  and  Minnesota  are  all  making 
good  headway.  Kansas  has  nearly  two  hundred.  North  Dakota 
has  one  hundred  and  ninety.  Oklahoma,  although  a  new  state, 
has  had  a  substantial  growth  in  consolidated  schools.  Westward, 
Utah,  Idaho,  Washington  and  other  states  have  many  excellent 
consolidated  schools.  Nor  is  the  South  any  less  active.  Almost 
every  southern  state  has  consolidated  schools  and  transporta- 
tion of  children.  Clear  down  in  Florida  we  find  them.  In 
Louisiana  whole  parishes  (our  counties)  have  every  school  con- 
solidated. 


This  is  all  the  history  necessary.  Consolidation  has  proved 
a  panacea  for  the  whole  country — North,  South,  East  and  West. 
And  Missouri  is  rapidly  falling  into  line! 

Relation  to  the  Rural  Life  Movement. — Our  industrial 
life  is  experiencing  fundamental  changes.  The  phenomenal 
growth  of  cities  has  been  coincident  everywhere  with  growth  in 
manufacturing  industries.  These  latter  have  produced  modern 
labor  saving  machinery  for  the  farm,  and  have  consequently  re- 
duced the  demand  for  farm  hands.  Local  industries  have  died 
and  rural  craftsmen  have  flocked  to  the  city.  Worst  of  all,  untold 
numbers  of  farm  youth,  without  whom  the  rural  communities  will 
languish,  are  drawn  thither  by  the  glamour  of  city  life  and  its 
opportunities  for  advancement.  The  drift  of  country  popula- 
tion, which  had  its  beginning  in  economic  causes  subsequently 
was  continued  with  increasing  momentum  for  purely  social  reason-. 
The  crude,  though  virile  school  of  pioneer  days,  with  its  man- 
teacher  and  many  pupils  has  passed  away.  In  its  place  is  the 
small,  weak,  poorly  taught  and  poorly  paid  school  of  the  average 
community.  Careful  investigation  shows  that  the  old-time 
lyceum  and  spelling  bee,  the  neighborhood  singing  school  and 
debating  society  have  had  their  day  and  no  modern  substitute  is 
offered.  Country  life  has  gradually  become  shorn  of  its  human 
satisfactions,  where  such  were  at  one  time  known.  People  are 
moving  to  town  because  the  rural  school  does  not  offer  the  spiritual 
uplift  demanded  by  the  human  soul.  Social  life  there,  too,  does 
not  fiill  the  craving  for  recreations  and  diversions  of  normal 
human  beings. 

Country  life  as  a  whole  must  be  reconstructed  or  redirected. 
It  i>  now  altogether  too  much  dependent  on  city  life.  Many 
factors  must  have  a  share  in  this  change  for  the  better;  but  none, 
certainly,  can  play  as  great  a  role  in  the  movement  as  the  new 
farm  school.  Life  in  rural  districts  is  agricultural.  The  new 
school  must  offer  an  agricultural  education — i.  e.  must  give  ex- 
pression (1)  to  good  scientific  farming,  rendering  ample  returns 
for  the  labor  expended;  and  (2)  to  a  rural  social  life  satisfactory 
to  those  living  it.  Such  tasks  are  beyond  the  old  school.  The 
strong  consolidated  school  alone  can  solve  them. 

The  Consolidated  School  a  Community  Center.  The 
new  kind  of  school  becomes  the  natural  center  of  all  community 
enterprise.  Wherever  consolidated  schools  spring  up  there  com- 
munity undertakings  of  every  kind  seem  to  flourish.     The  very 


Consolidated  School  at  Deer  River,  Minnesota 
•Such  great  rural  schools  are  fast  remaking  agricultural  life  in  the  state.     If   consolidation 
is  worth  doing  at  all  it  is  worth  doing  well. 

things  for  which  country  folk  formerly  came  to  town  can  now  be 
obtained  at  home.  This  school,  to  begin  with,  is  better  for  farm 
purposes  than  any  offered  in  town.  And  from  it  come  the  im- 
pulses necessary  to  organize  the  community  on  a  more  permanent 
social  and  economic  basis.  Let  the  school  have  a  large  assembly 
hall  to  be  used  for  extension  lecture  courses,  neighborhood  social 
gatherings,  farmers'  institutes,  boys'  and  girls'  clubs,  mothers' 
meetings,  etc.  The  very  wagons  bringing  the  children  to  school 
at  public  expense  are  used  in  some  states  to  convey  the  parents 
to  many  of  these  meetings.  This  is  perfectly  right.  For  let 
us  bear  in  mind:  The  task  of  the  new  school  is  not  limited 

TO    THE    CHILDREN    IN    THE    SCHOOL!    IT    REACHES    INTO    THE    FARM 

HOME   AND    SEEKS   TO    BE    HELPFUL   THERE ITS   TASK    IS    TO    MAKE 

ALL    COUNTRY    LIFE    MORE    SCIENTIFIC   AND   MORE    CONTENTED. 

The  Ideal  Farmers'  School. — A  fatal  mistake  in  much 
consolidation  is  its  appeal  to  the  cheap  and  shoddy.  If  this 
great  work  is  worth  doing  at  all  it  is  worth  doing  well.  Some  ad- 
vocates of  consolidation  recommend  the  bringing  together  at  a 
central  place  two  or  more  of  the  best  schoolhouses  from  the  a- 
bandoned  districts,  placing  them  side  by  side  and  using  them  as 

9 


so  many  rooms  in  a  graded  school.  This  system  has  proved  an 
expensive  makeshift  wherever  tried,  and  is  to  be  condemned. 

Where  a  community  contemplates  consolidation  its  advocates 
should  strive  with  might  and  main  towards  the  highest  ideals  in 
school  perfection.  Some  such  institutions  as  the  Cache  La  Poudre 
School,  depicted  elsewhere  in  these  pages,  might  well  serve  as  a 
model.     Here  are  some  things  to  be  considered  by  all: 

(1).  The  Grounds  Chosen,  aside  from  being  centrally  lo- 
cated and  easily  accessible,  should  be  sightly,  well  drained,  and 
large — so  large,  indeed,  as  to  afford  room  for  good-sized  experiment 
plots,  school  gardens,  playgrounds,  lawn  and  ample  space  for 
buildings.  Five  acres  and  upward  should  be  the  standard.  In- 
deed, all  Missouri  consolidated  schools  seeking  aid  for  building,  etc. 
under  the  Buford-Colley  Consolidation  Law  should  provide 
"a  site  of  not  less  than  five  acres  for  the  central  high  school  build- 
ing of  said  district." 

(2).  The  School  Structure  should  be  built  as  a  permanent 
farm  school  plant,  have  a  large  assembly  room,  well  equipped 
class  rooms,  and  agricultural  laboratories,  be  sanitary,  attractive 
and  in  every  way  as  good  as  the  best  town  school  plant.  No 
steps  should  be  taken  towards  building  until  after  consulting  with 
educational  experts,  and  then  plans  and  specifications  should  be 
prepared  by  a  competent  architect. 

The  grounds  should  have  a  good  shed  for  teams  and  wagons. 

(3).  A  Principal's  Cottage  should  be  erected  on  every  con- 
solidated school  ground.  To  this  end  of  the  best  of  the  discarded 
schoolhouses  may  be  moved  in  and  remodelled.  The  district  will 
get  a  monthly  rental  upon  this  property.  Many  states  have  found 
this  an  excellent  investment.  One  state  has  as  many  as  sixty-five 
such  cottages  and  more  are  springing  up  rapidly.  It  must  also  lie 
borne  in  mind  that  the  teacher  who  lives  his  life  in  the  midst  of 
the  community  from  year  to  year,  becomes  a  positive  factor  in 
community  building,  something  that  can  scarcely  be  said  of  our 
present  short-term  teacher. 


10 


SOME  DIFFICULTIES  IN  THE  WAY  OF 
CONSOLIDATION 

Overcoming  Old  Traditions. — The  thing  which  we  ordi- 
narily call  "tradition"  has  played  a  strange  part  in  human  history. 
Great  races  and  nations  have  permitted  themselves  to  be  crowded 
out  of  the  path  of  progress  and  have  become  stationary  and  even 
reactionary,  because  to  take  this  or  that  forward  step  would  mean 
to  depart  from  the  custom  of  the  forefathers.  Many  a  great  re- 
form has  stranded  on  this  rock  of  tradition.  Man  is  by  nature 
reluctant  to  give  up  the  old  things  which  were  of  service  to  him 
and  to  his  father  before  him.  It  is  a  little  hard,  therefore,  for 
some  people  to  understand  that  the  time-honored  schoolhouse 
at  the  cross-roads  must  yield  to  the  onward  march  of  change. 
Just  as  surely  is  this  coming  to  pass  as  that  the  scythe  and  cradle 
have  been  supplanted  by  the  mower  and  self-binder.  Thoughtful 
men  will  see  that  in  the  matter  of  consolidation  sentiment  must 
give  way  before  cold  economic  necessity. 


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Transportation  of  Pupils  at  the  Porter  School 
The  Porter  School,  Adair  County,  Mo.,  is  a  one-teacher  school  in  which  many  remarkable 
educational   problems  are   being  worked   out.      Among  other  things,   the   children   are   being 
conveyed  to  school.     This  has  meant   much  for  increased  regularity  of  attendance  and   has 
reduced  tardiness  to  the  zero  point. 

11 


Effect  on  Land  Value. — An  objection  frequently  raised 
against  consolidation  is  the  effect  the  removal  of  the  one-room 
school  may  have  upon  farm  values  in  the  immediate  vicinity  where 
it  stood.  Will  the  removal  not  decrease  the  value  of  these  farms? 
The  answer  is  an  emphatic  No!  In  hundreds  of  instances  where 
the  new  system  has  been  adopted  this  is  proved.  The  writer 
has  before  him  plenty  of  evidence  to  verify  the  statement.  Pro- 
fessor A.  B.  Graham  of  the  Ohio  State  University,  for  instance, 
shows  illustrations  in  his  bulletins  of  farm  homes  in  certain  con- 
solidation districts  chosen  especially  because  of  these  schools' 
facilities.  What  could  be  more  attractive  in  an  advertisement 
when  one  has  a  "arm  for  sale,  than  to  state  something  like  this: 
"For  Sale — farm  in  enterprising  community  offering  graded  and 
high  school  instruction.  No  need  to  pay  tuition  in  town.  Trans- 
portation wagon  passes  within  1-8  mile  of  house,"  etc.  The  fact 
is,  land  everywhere  in  the  new  district  will  get  a  wholesome  boost 
upward.  For  many  outsiders  will  be  eager  to  "buy  into"  the 
district  to  take  advantage  of  the  fine  school. 

Bad  Roads  and  the  Conveyance  of  Children. — The  ob- 
jection most  frequently  raised  is  the  impracticability  of  transporta- 
tion in  certain  sections  due  to  bad  roads.  No  one  will  deny  that 
heavy  roads  make  transportation  difficult  in  sections  for  short- 
periods  during  fall  and  spring;  but  the  difficulty  has  nowhere  been 
insuperable.  In  many  states  transportation  is  over  just  such 
roads.  Missouri  is  not  the  only  state  to  have  sticky  clay  or  dirt 
roads!  Up  at  Buffalo  Center,  Iowa,  for  example,  the  roads  get 
very  bad  at  times,  but  this  does  not  stop  the  wagons.  Or, 
again,  study  the  Model  School  transportation  scene.  This  wagon 
conveys  Missouri  country  children  to  school  over  ordinary  dirt 
roads,  which  at  times  get  very  bad.  This  has  occasionally  oblige*  1  the 
driver  to  use  four  horses;  but  in  eight  years'  time  this  transpor- 
tation wagon  has  not  missed  over  half  a  dozen  days  on  account 

OF  THE  CONDITION  OF  THE  ROADS  OR  COLD  WEATHER,  AND  ITS  ROUTE 

is  five  miles  long  !  Such  facts  should  convince  the  most  con- 
servative. Farmers  do  somehow  get  their  milk  to  the  creamery 
over  the  worst  roads;  delivery  of  rural  mail  is  regularly  made, 
rain  or  shine,  wet  or  dry;  then  why  not  transport  the  children  to 
school  also?  Some  argue:  "let  us  get  the  good  roads  first;  then  it 
will  be  easier  to  consolidate."  Wait  for  good  roads  and  you  may 
have  to  wait  forever!  Stir  up  a  wholesome  community  spirit;  con- 
solidate the  schools;  thereafter,  necessity  will  oblige  all  to  turn 

12 


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Teacher's  Cottage  at  the  Porter  .School 
This  is  probably  the  first  Teacher's  Cottage  in  this  state.      Here  the  teacher,  Mrs.  Marie 
Turner  Harvey,  lives  12  months  out  of  the  year  in  the  midst  of  her  people.     In  this  way  only 
can  the  teacher  hope  to  become  a  real  community  leader.     All  consolidated  schools,  .it   least, 
should  have  such  cottages  for  their  principals. 

out  and  make  the  roads  the  best  possible  under  the  circumstances. 
But,  for  that  matter,  our  state  is  getting  wide-awake  to  the  value 
of  good  roads  and  it  is  building  them.  Adair  County,  alone, 
has  spent  $50,000  during  the  past  year  on  road  improvement  and 
some  counties  have  done  even  better. 

But  here,  in  closing,  is  a  rustic  argument  offered  by  a  farmer 
at  a  consolidation  meeting:  "Just  supposing  that  a  transportation 
wagon  should  fail  occasionally,  in  the  very  worst  of  weather,  to 
make  the  regular  trip,  is  this  any  worse  than  what  we  are  exper- 
iencing now?"  Think  of  the  little  children  plodding  schoolward  in 
cold  and  wet  and  mire — when  they  go  at  all!  Then  count  up  the 
number  of  days  they  are  kept  home  altogether  because  of  bad 
roads  and  severe  weather! 

The  compact  statement  which  follows  below  tells  the  story 
of  transportation  in  the  Cache  La  Poudre  School  a  few  miles  out 
from  Fort  Collins,  Colorado.  This  school  has  taken  the  place  of 
half  a  dozen  small  schools  and  is  attended  by  263  pupils.  100  of 
these  who  live  reasonably  close  to  the  school  are  expected  to  shift 
for  themselves,  the  rest  are  carried  to  school  in  standard  trans- 
portation wagons.     During    the   present    winter    this  particular 

1:5 


region  has  been  visited  by  the  heaviest  snow-fall  in  the  history  of 
the  oldest  settler,  and  yet  the  drivers  told  the  writer  that  the  diffi- 
culties encountered  were  not  of  any  serious  consequence. 

TRANSPORTATION. 

CACHE  LA  POUDRE  SCHOOL. 


ROUTE 

DISTANCE  FOR  FIRST 

MONTHLY  PAY 

NUMBER  CHILDREN 

CHILD  TO  RIDE 

OF  DRIVER 

IN  WAGON 

1 

4    miles 

$49.00 

24 

2 

2    miles 

40.00 

23 

3 

5    miles 

50.00 

25 

4 

4    miles 

40.00 

24 

5 

2f  miles 

37.50 

22 

(i 

5    miles 

55.00 

25 

7 

3    miles 

44.00 

20 

7  wagons.  Average     $45.00  Total   163 

Transportation  costs  9  cents  a  day  per  pupil. 

There  is  no  tardiness  with  transportation. 
Attendance  is  at  the  maximum. 

The  Driver  signs  a  contract  that  specifies  his  duties. 
He  gives  a  $300  bond  for  faithful  performance  of  duty. 

He  maintains  order  in  the  wagon  and  on  the  road. 
In  this  school  163  pupils  are  transported. 

100  live  close  enough  to  walk.     All  share  the  benefits. 
This  school  has  the  advantage  of  the  town  school,  and  the  best 

possible  environment. 
The  Country  is  the  place  to  educate  country  children. 

The  consolidated  school  puts  a  high  school  in  reach  of  all 

Children  in  district  and  it  educates  for  country  life. 

The  Cost. — The  financial  side  is  considered  last  since  it  is 
generally  the  greatest  cause  for  hesitation.  Some  country  people 
have  been  afraid  of  largely  increased  taxes.  We  are  frank  to  be- 
lieve, however,  that  when  the  problem  is  stated  fairly — without 
any  beating  about  the  bush — and  all  the  advantages  are  explained 
and  proved,  that  the  average  school  patron  will  not  let  a  slight 
increase  in  school  taxes  stand  between  him  and  a  modern  school 
system. 

It  is  quite  easy  to  prove  that  consolidation  may  be  car- 
ried on  at  just  as  small  an  outlay  as  under  the  old  system,  and  in 
some  instances  can  be  made  even  less  expressive.  But  Mich 
consolidation  is  often  ineffective.  The  illustration  which  follows 
is  taken  from  Oklahoma.  Here  an  excellent  consolidated  school 
is  being  operated  at  less  cost  than  were  the  original  small  schools : 

YALE  CONSOLIDATED  SCHOOL. 

"This  school  was  established  in  1 000.  The  (own  of  Yale  has  more  than  doubled  in  popu- 
lation during  thai  time,  and  eight  teachers  are  employed  where  but  three  were  employed  in 
the  beginning,  so  il  is  impracticable  to  give  the  comparative  actual  cost.  But  the  record  shows 
that  the  per  capita  cost  before  consolidation  was  $2.30  per  month,  and    at    the    present  time 

14 


is  $1.70.  The  district  owns  three  wagons  costing  $120  each,  and  the  drivers  receive  $35  a 
month  each.  Of  this  feature  the  Principal,  Mr.  F.  H.  Reed,  writes,  'It  is  as  satisfactory  as 
anj  department  in  the  school.'  He  also  adds:  'The  new  system  is  entirely  satisfactory.  There 
is  none  to  prefer  the  old  system.  All  are  proud  of  our  school'  The  Yale  School  gives  two  years 
high  school  work,  and  is  accredited  by  the  A.  &  M.  College. " 

Where  the  community  is  ambitious  to  get  the  best  kind  of  a 
consolidated  school  the  gross  cost  is  generally  a  little  more  than 
under  the  old  system;  but  when  we  consider  the  added  effective- 
ness of  the  new  school  in  the  matter  of  increase  and  regularity  of 
attendance,  general  economy,  and  ultimate  educational  worth, 
the  net  individual  cost  is  far  less  than  under  the  passing  regime. 

Mr.  Macdonald  who  has  helped  to  consolidate  nearly  two 
hundred  schools  in  North  Dakota  the  last  few  years,  speaks  with 
authority  on  this  point  of  cost.     He  says: 

This  is  undoubtedly  the  greatest  and  most  persistent  objection  to  consolidation,  much  so 
as  some  may  dislike  to  admit  it.  The  fact  is  that  consolidation  does  cost  more  in  the  aggregate 
than  the  one-room  school,  and  it  ought  to  cost  more,  for  it  is  a  vastly  better  system.  However, 
when  the  true  cost,  that  is,  the  cost  per  pupil  per  day  attended  is  considered,  the  consolidated 
school  costs  less  than  the  rural  school.  At  the  close  of  the  school  year  1911-1912,  this  item  for 
the  city  school  was  24  cents,  for  the  graded  school  28  cents,  for  the  consolidated  school  32  cents, 
and  for  the  rural  school  35  cents.  But  the  average  aggregate  cost  of  the  consolidated  school  is 
greater  than  that  of  the  rural  school,  and  there  is  the  chief  objection.  The  self-binder,  too, 
costs  more  money  than  does  the  cradle  scythe  it  replaced,  as  does  the  steam  thresher  when 
compared  with  the  flail.  But  no  one  uses  that  as  an  objection  against  the  use  of  either  one, 
for  they  give  greater  returns  for  the  money  invested  in  them.  And  so  the  consolidated  school 
gives  much  greater  returns  in  the  greater  number  of  better  trained  boys  and  girls  that  it  enrolls 
than  would  ever  be  possible  in  the  old  school  it  supplanted.  The  consolidated  school  costs 
about  the  same  as  the  village  or  small  town  school  which  calls  for  a  tax  rate  of  six  mills  less 
than  that  paid  by  cities  supporting  state  high  schools.  The  rural  resident  is  not  over-burdened 
with  taxes  when  compared  with  the  city  taxpayer.  He  can  still  raise  two  million  dollars,  and 
be  below  his  city  neighbor.  In  any  event  the  money  spent  on  tobacco  by  the  farmers  in  this 
state  would  build  and  equip  a  consolidated  school  in  every  district  in  this  state.  When  the 
better  attendance,  high  school  privileges  and  state  aid  are  considered  it  is  a  much  cheaper 
school  than  any  one-room  school  can  ever  be.  It  is  not  necessary  to  build  a  costly  building  and 
equip  it  in  a  costly  fashion.  Two  of  the  old  one-room  buildings  placed  together  and  with  two 
well  qualified  teachers  would  make  a  most  excellent  beginning,  and  would  be  vastly  better  than 
to  have  both  the  schools  running  separately  as  one-room  schools.  This  has  been  done  with 
much  success  in  several  places.  Then,  too,  the  transportation  can  be  reduced  to  a  minimum 
by  having  family  transportation  with  or  without  cost  to  the  district.  This  is  also  being  clone 
and  in  such  cases  no  additional  tax  is  needed.  But  all  districts  can  afford  a  higher  grade  of 
consolidation  than  this,  and  should  have  it  at  an  early  date. 


If) 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CONSOLIDATION  IN 
MISSOURI 

The  Beginnings  Made. — Consolidation  has  until  recently 

made  slow  headway  in  Missouri.  Other  states  round  about  us 
have  succeeded  where  we  have  had  indifferent  success.  Mis- 
sourians  are  naturally  conservative  and  find  it  difficult  to  depart 
from  the  long-established  small  school  unit  with  its  hallowed 
traditions.  But  now  that  the  beginnings  have  been  made,  the 
process  of  reorganization  promises  a  rapid,  and,  we  trust,  substan- 
tial growth.  The  last  few  months  especially  have  recorded  a 
large  number  of  successful  consolidations  under  the  excellent  new 
Buford-Colley  Consolidation  Law. 

Up  to  the  present  time  34  districts  have  been  consolidated 
under  this  law,  and  at  least  a  half  dozen  are  in  the  process  of 
consolidation  in  Northeast  Missouri  as  this  report  goes  to  press. 
And  in  all  probability  other  sections  of  the  state  are  equally  active. 

The  following  items  are  gleaned  from  proof  sheets  of  State 
Superintendent  Evans'  1913  school  report: 


(In   nil-:  S<  I L  l;  \uu.  (  lONSOLIDATED  SCHOOL,     I  >EEB     RlVER,    MINNESOTA 

Section  7  of  the  Buford-Collc\  Consolidation  Ad  in  Missouri  calls  for  a  site  of  a1  leas!  live  acres 
in  order  to  make  the  school  eligible  for  state  aid.  This  is  a  great  thing  for  the  future  of  Mis- 
souri schools.  It  is  in  lir  hoped  that  all  the  new  schools  may  qualify  under  this  section  of  the  law 

lt'» 


The  consolidation  naturally  falls  under  two  heads:  consol- 
idation with  some  small  village  and  consolidation  in  the  open 
country.  Under  the  former  head  might  be  enumerated  Wyaconda, 
Ellington,  Mindenmines,  Fair  Grove,  Willard,  Ellsinore,  Linn, 
Auxvasse,   Ewing,  Tuscombia,  Otterville,  and  Worthington. 

Wyaconda — (  'lark  County  : 

This  district  transports  its  pupils  and  docs  all  its  work  in  the 
central  building.  It  comprises  Wyaconda  village  and  3  adjoining 
country  districts.  Wyaconda  has  a  $12,000  school  building  and 
receives  -1800  state  aid.  There  are  56  high  school  pupils  in  the 
school    this    year. 

Ellington — Reynolds  County  : 
This  small  village  has  consolidated  with  several  country 
districts  and  has  just  completed  a  $14,000  central  building,  to- 
wards which  the  state  paid  $2,000.  This  is  the  first  high  school 
organized  in  Reynolds  County.  One  unique  thing  about  this 
organization  is  that  one  of  the  large  rural  schools  has  been  retained 
intact,  while  the  pupils  from  the  others  are  being  conveyed  in 
transportation  wagons  to  the  central  school. 

Mindenmines — Barton  County: 
This  new  consolidated  district  includes  the  small  village  of 
Mindenimnes  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county.  Here,  an 
unusually  fine  central  building  has  been  erected  at  a  cost  of  $20,000 
of  which  $2,000  is  paid  by  the  state.  In  this  district  transporta- 
tion is  not  used  and  all  the  rural  schools  are  retained  as  before 
consolidation.  In  all  probability,  the  old  schools  will  be  abolished 
in  a  short  while  and  the  children  transported  to  the  central  school, 
for  in  this  way  the  work  can  be  done  better  and  more  economically. 

There  have  been,  to  date,  a  considerable  number  of  con- 
solidations in  the  open  country.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  kind 
of  consolidation  may  increase  very  rapidly  as  the  agricultural 
population,  after  all,  needs  the  school  as  a  rallying  point  for  all 
country  interests. 

Aurora — Barry  County: 

This  district  has  a  valuation  of  just  a  trifle  over  $200,000 

which  makes  transportation  practically  impossible,  as  it  takes  all 

the  funds  to  maintain  the  elementary  schools.     The  building  is 

in  process  of  erection  at  this  time  and  will  cost,  when  completed, 

17 


a  little  less  than  $6,000.  The  state  will  pay  $1,333  towards  this 
building.  For  the  time  being,  the  high  school  is  held  in  a  country 
church  building  with  14  pupils  in  attendance.  The  state  pays 
1800  annually  to  this  school  district. 

Pisgah — Cooper  County  : 
This  district  has  a  total  valuation  of  $400,000.     The  district 
is  maintaining  a  third-class  high  school  with  an  attendance  of  18 
pupils. 

Prairie  Home — Cooper  County: 
This  district  has  a  valuation  of  $300,000  and  is  maintaining 
a  third-class  high  school  with  an  attendance  of  15  pupils. 

Stafford — Green  County: 
This  district  is  erecting  a  well-planned  four-room  building 
which  will  soon  be  in  use. 

Norris — Henry  County: 
This  district  has  absorbed  the  old  Norris  Private  High  School. 
A  new  $8,000  central  school  building  is  planned,  towards  which 
the  state  will  pay  $2,000. 

Boomer — Linn  County: 
This  district  is  composed  of  3  districts;  2  in  Linn  and  1  in 
Chariton  County.  Because  of  some  opposition  to  voting  bonds, 
a  handful  of  progressive  citizens  within  this  district  purchased  5 
acres  of  land  and  built  thereon  a  one-room  building  for  high  school 
purposes.  They  then  deeded  it  over  to  the  district.  The  district 
contains  18  square  miles  and  has  received  $450  aid  from  the  state. 

The  consolidation  by  counties  up  to  the  present  time  is  as 
follows: 

Counties  having  one  each:  Barry,  Barton,  Bates,  Bollinger, 
Butler,  Callaway,  Carter,  Cass,  Chariton,  Clark,  Clinton,  Crawford 
DeKalb,  Henry,  Hickory,  Holt,  Lawrence,  Lewis,  Linn,  Osage, 
Pemiscot,  Piatt,  Putnam,  and  Reynolds. 

Counties  having  two  each:  Miller  and  St.  Clair. 

Counties  having  3  each:  Cooper  and  Green. 

Reason  for  the  Failures  of  the  Past  Few  Years. — Agreat 

many  spirited  campaigns  were  carried  on  under  the  old  consolida- 
tion laws,  with  the  net  results  of  a  score  half  of  more  or  less  unsat- 
isfactory schools  being  established  in  Jackson,  Macon,  Cass  and 

IS 


one  or  two  other  counties.  No  really  satisfactory  farmers' 
schools  were  established  under  it. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  old  consolidation  laws  were  practi- 
cally prohibitive.  Under  them  (1)  the  vote  could  be  taken  only 
once  each  year — at  the  regular  school  election  in  April;  (2)  in  out- 
lining the  new  district  the  old  district  lines  had  to  be  followed 
whether  it  was  compatible  with  the  topography  of  the  country 
and  the  wishes  of  the  school  patrons  or  not ;  (3)  unless  every  school 
district  cast  a  majority  of  its  votes  in  favor  of  consolidation  the 
project  would  fail.  There  are  several  instances  on  record  where 
the  election  failed  on  this  ground,  although  a  majority  of  all  the 
votes  in  the  entire  proposed  district  voted  favorably;  and  (4)  the 
state  offered  no  inducements  whatever  in  the  form  of  state  aid  for 
school  buildings  or  school  maintenance. 

The  Strong  Points  of  the  Buford-Colley  Consolidation 
Law. — Since  the  enactment  last  winter  of  this  new  law  successful 
consolidation  has  taken  place  in  every  section  of  the  state. 

Here  are  the  strong  points  of  the  law,  which  have  made  all 
of  this  possible: 

1.  It  provides  for  the  formation  of  natural  consolidation  dis- 
tricts— i.  e.  the  old  district  lines  need  not  be  followed  where  this 
would  mean  a  hardship  or  injustice. 

2.  The  schools  may,  as  a  beginning,  be  centralized  under  one 
board  of  six  men  without  necessarily  abolishing  the  small  schools; 

3.  All  the  small  schools  may  be  abandoned  and  everything 
be  reorganized  as  one  strong  consolidated  school,  if  such  is  the 
wish  of  the  community; 

4.  The  small  schools  may  remain  intact  and  a  central  high 
school  only  be  organized  for  the  eighth  grade  graduates  and,  in 
particular  instances,  for  the  seventh  and  eighth  grade  pupils; 

5.  The  patrons  may  decide  for  themselves  whether  or  not  they 
shall  wish  to  make  use  of  transportation  at  public  expense,  with 
this  proviso,  however,  that  where  children  are  not  transported 
school  facilities  must  be  provided  within  two  and  one-half  miles 
of  all  said  children. 

6.  It  provides,  finally,  substantial  aid  for  erecting  the  new 
school  building,  and  for  continued  school  maintenance. 


19 


HOW  TO  GET  CONSOLIDATED  SCHOOLS 
IN  MISSOURI  UNDER  THE  NEW  LAW 

Community  Spirit  Necessary.— It  is  useless  to  attempt 
consolidation  in  places  where  community  spirit  is  at  a  low  ebb. 
Community  spirit  is  the  first  essential.  A  reasonable  degree  of  it 
is  absolutely  necessary  before  beginning  the  work.  A  few  men  and 
women  with  the  right  kind  of  outlook  can  do  much  to  inspire  a 
community,  and  in  time  even  the  most  conservative  neighborhood 
may  be  ready  for  the  new  system.  In  many  places  consolidation 
is  the  result  of  slow  but  positive  growth;  in  others  it  is  almost 
spontaneous.  Where  the  latter  is  the  case  there  are  sure  to  be 
many  people  who  have  permitted  personal  prejudice  to  be  sunk 
for  the  greater  good  of  community  union. 

The  first  thing  to  look  for,  then,  is  whether  or  not  the  area 
under  consideration  has  the  spirit  to  work  together  for  the  good  of 
all.  This  is  more  important  than  good  roads;  for  with  it  all  ob- 
stacles will  be  surmounted  or  at  least  minimized. 

Study  Local  Conditions. — The  leaders  in  the  movement 
must  make'  a  careful  study  of  local  conditions.  The  proposed 
district  must  not  be  too  large.     No  transportation  line  should  be 


The  Associated  Schools,  Sleepy  Eye,  Minnesoi  \ 
The  !_rn-:it  farmers'  schools  in  Minnesota  offer  all  kinds  of  agricultural  and  shorl  courses 
lor  farm  folks.     Why  shouldn't  our  Missouri  schools  do  the  same? 

I'd 


much  more  than  five  miles  long.  Nor  should  the  district  be  very 
small.  A  small  district  will  not  contain  taxable  property  enough 
to  run  a  good  school  without  making  the  levy  unbearably  high. 
The  topography  of  the  land  plays  an  important  role.  The  worst 
hills,  stickiest  roads,  and  most  frequently  flooded  low-lands  should 
be  avoided,  at  least  in  laying  out  the  transportation  routes.  Mat- 
ters of  school  enrollment,  condition  of  school  house,  rates  of  taxa- 
tion necessary  for  school  maintenance,  etc.,  must  be  considered 
with  the  greatest   care. 

Size  and  Value  of  District. — The  preliminary  survey  of 
the  field  ought  to  be  based  on  these  considerations:  (1  The  pro- 
posed district  should  show  a  school  enrollment  of  200,  or  if  at- 
tached to  a  village,  at  least  150.  Under  the  state  laws  an  enrollment 
of  at  least  200  must  be  shown  or  the  district  have  at  least  12 
square  miles  before  the  opfn  county  can  organize  with  village 
privileges,  such  as  to  raise  the  levy  above  65  cents  on  the  $100 
valuation.  (2)  There  had  best  be  a  total  valuation  of  at  least 
$300,000 — a  little  less  may  do  in  some  instances.  From  $350,- 
000  to  $400,000  is  much  better.  These  figures  are  intended 
chiefly  for  districts  contemplating  free    conveyance  of  pupils. 

Campaign  of  Education. — (1)  There  must  be  the  prelim- 
inary canvass,  suggested  above,  to  ascertain  the  feeling  in  the 
community.  Any  public-spirited  man  or  set  of  men  can  do  this. 
(2)  Such  a  canvass  should  be  followed  up  with  a  publicity  campaign. 
The  men  who  have  undertaken  to  lead  the  movement  should  send 
to  the  state  schools  or  the  state  superintendent  for  bulletins  from 
which  to  clip  and  compile  enough  material  to  make  a  fair,  concise 
statement  of  fact.  This  should  then  be  printed  and  put  into  the 
hands  of  the  voters  in  the  proposed  district.  (3)  After  all  have 
had  time  to  study  the  question,  public  meetings  must  be  held. 
To  these  should  be  invited  experts  from  the  several  state  schools 
and  the  office  of  the  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction.  Such 
meetings  will  offer  opportunity  for  the  discussion  of  many  things 
not  clear  to  the  average  voter.  (4)  As  a  last  step  the  campaign 
must  be  carried  into  every  district  within  the  proposed  consolida- 
tion district.  An  excellent  idea  is  to  give  at  least  one  lecture 
(illustrated,  if  possible,  with  stereopticon  slides)  in  every  school- 
house. 

Steps  of  Procedure  Under  the  Buford-Colley  Act. — The 

new  law  is  reproduced  below,  section  by  section,  together  with 

21 


Cache  La  Poudre  Consolidated  School,  Larimer  County,  Colorado 
This  great  school  is  attended  by  263  rural  children,  163  being  conveyed  to  school   in  7 
transportation  wagons.      On  the  four  and  one  half  acre  campus  there  is  a  cottage  for  the  prin- 
cipal and  barn  for  horses  and  transportation  equipment.     This  school,  which  cost  $35,000  to 
build,  lies  in  the  open  country. 


such  explanations  as  may  cast  additional  light  upon  the  technical 
phraseology  of  the  context: 

Section  1.     Consolidated  district  for  elementary  and  high  school  may  be  formed. 

The  qualified  voters  of  any  community  in  Missouri  may  organize  a  consolidated  school  dis- 
trict for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  both  elementary  schools  and  a  high  school  as  hereinafter 
provided.  When  such  new  district  is  formed  it  shall  be  known  as  consolidated  district  No 
of County,  and  all  the  laws  applicable  to  the  organization  and  govern- 
ment of  town  and  city  school  districts  as  provided  in  article  IV,  chapter  106  of  the  Revised  Stat  - 
utes  of  Missouri,  1909,  shall  be  applicable  to  districts  organized  under  the  provisions  of  this 
act. 

Section  2. — Consolidated  district — area  and  enumeration  of. — No  consolidated 
district  shall  be  formed  under  the  provisions  of  this  act  unless  it  contains  an  area  of  at  least 
twelve  square  miles  or  has  an  enumeration  of  at  least  two  hundred  children  of  school  age: 
Provided,  that  no  district  formed  under  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  include  within  its  ter- 
ritory any  town  or  city  district  that  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of  said  consolidated  district 
has  by  the  last  enumeration  two  hundred  children  of  school  age. 

Sections  1  and  2  make  it  evident  that  the  initiative  should 
come  from  the  school  patrons  themselves.  They  should  begin 
the  movement.  The  consolidated  district  is  conducted  under  the 
laws  applicable  to  villages  and  town  districts — i.  e.  there  will  be 
a  board  of  six  members,  the  tax  rate  may  exceed  65  mills,  etc.  The 
new  district  must  either  contain  an  areaj>f  at  least  twelve  square 

22 


miles  or  have  an  enumeration  of  two  hundred  children  of  school 
age.     If  it  can  have  both  this  would  be  highly  desirable. 

Section  3.  Petition  to  form  consolidated  district  filed  with  whom — duties  of 
county  school  superintendent — meeting — organization  of. — When  the  resident  citi- 
zens of  any  community  desire  to  form  a  consolidated  district,  a  petition  signed  by  at  least 
twenty-five  qualified  voters  of  said  community  shall  be  filed  with  the  county  superintendent  of 
public  schools.  On  receipt  of  said  petition,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  county  superintendent 
to  visit  said  community  and  investigate  the  needs  of  the  community  and  determine  the  exact 
boundaries  of  the  proposed  consolidated  district.  In  determining  these  boundaries,  he  .^Ir.ill 
so  locate  the  boundary  lines  as  will  in  his  judgment  form  the  best  possible  consolidated  district, 
having  due  regard  also  to  the  welfare  of  adjoining  districts.  The  county  superintendent  of 
schools  shall  call  a  special  meeting  of  all  the  qualified  voters  of  the  proposed  consolidated  dis- 
trict for  considering  the  question  of  consolidation.  He  shall  make  this  call  by  posting  within 
the  proposed  district  ten  notices  in  public  places,  stating  the  place,  time  and  purpose  of  such 
meeting.  At  least  fifteen  days  notice  shall  be  given  and  the  meeting  shall  commence  at  2  o'clock 
p.  m.  on  the  date  set.  The  county  superintendent  shall  also  post  within  said  district  five  plats 
of  the  proposed  consolidated  district  at  least  fifteen  days  prior  to  the  date  of  thespecial  meeting. 
These  plats  and  notices  shall  be  posted  within  thirty  days  after  the  filing  of  the  petition.  The 
county  superintendent  shall  file  a  copy  of  the  petition  and  of  the  plat  with  the  county  clerk  and 
shall  send  or  take  one  plat  to  the  special  meeting.  The  special  meeting  shall  be  called  to  order 
by  the  county  superintendent  of  schools  or  some  one  deputized  by  him  to  call  said  meeting  to 
order.  The  meeting  shall  then  elect  a  chairman  and  a  secretary  and  proceed  in  accordance  with 
Section  10865,  R.  S.  1909.  The  proceedings  of  this  meeting  shall  be  certified  by  the  chairman 
and  secretary  to  the  county  clerk  or  clerks  and  also  to  the  county  superintendent  or  superin- 
tendents of  schools  of  all  the  counties  affected.  If  the  proposed  consolidated  district  includes 
territory  lying  in  two  or  more  counties,  the  petition  herein  provided  for  shall  be  filed  with  the 
county  superintendent  of  that  county  in  which  the  majority  of  the  petitioners  reside.  The 
county  superintendent  shall  proceed  as  above  set  forth  and  in  addition  shall  file  a  copy  of  the 
petition  and  of  the  plat  with  the  county  clerk  of  each  county  from  which  territory  is  proposed 
to   be   taken. 

The  election  may  be  held  any  time  during  the  year.  The 
county  superintendent  shall  give  at  least  fifteen  days'  notice  of 
the  special  election.  He  must  take  action  very  soon  after  receiv- 
ing the  petition  signed  by  the  twenty-five  qualified  voters,  because 
all  his  plats  and  notices  must  be  posted  within  thirty  days  after 
the  filing  of  the  petition.  This  will  make  the  longest  possible  time 
between  the  filing  of  the  petition  and  the  holding  of  the  special 
election,  forty-five  days.  The  special  meeting  is  governed  by 
Section  10865,  Revised  Statutes,  for  the  year  1909.  The  two  im- 
portant steps  to  be  heeded  are  these: 

First. — To  organize  as  a  town  or  city  school  district,  those 
voting  for  the  organization  shall  have  written  or  printed  on  their 
ballots  "For  organization",  and  those  voting  against  the  organi- 
zation shall  have  written  or  printed  on  their  ballots  "Against 
organization";  and  each  person  desiring  to  vote  shall  advance  to 
the  front  of  the  chairman  and  deposit  his  ballot  in  a  box  to  be  used 
for  that  purpose.  AVhen  all  present  shall  have  voted,  the  chair- 
man shall  appoint  two  tellers,  who  shall  call  each  ballot  aloud, 
and  the  secretary  shall  keep  a  tally  and  report  to  the  chairman, 

23 


who  shall  announce  the  result;  and  if  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast 
are  "for  organization",  the  chairman  shall  call  the  next  order  of 
business. 

Second. — To  elect  six  directors,  as  follows:  Two  shall  be 
elected  for  three  years,  two  for  two  years,  and  two  for  one  year, 
and  each  director  shall  be  elected  separately  and  the  result  an- 
nounced in  the  manner  prescribed  for  organization.  If  said  elec- 
tion is  held  at  a  special  meeting,  from  then  until  the  next  annual 
meeting  shall  be  taken  as  one  year,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  terms 
of  the  directors  elected.  The  directors  chosen  must  comply  with 
the  requirements  of  section  17868  of  this  article.  The  chairman 
and  secretary  of  such  meeting  shall  keep  a  record  of  the  proceed- 
ings thereof  and  turn  the  same  over  to  the  board  of  education  of 
such  district,  to  be  entered  upon  its  records  by  the  clerk  of  such 
district. 

The  following  form  should  be  used  when  petitioning  the  county 
superintendent  to  take  steps  to  organize  the  consolidation  district : 

FORM  OF  PETITION. 

— Mo.,    -     — 191— 

We,  the  undersigned  qualified  voters  of  school  districts  numbered , 

and  adjoining  school  districts,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  an  act  of  the  Forty- 

seventh  general  assembly  of  the  state  of  Missouri,  entitled  "An  act  to  provide  for  the  organiza- 
tion of  consolidated  and  rural  high  schools,   and  to  provide  state  aid  for  such  schools,  with  an 

emergency  clause,"   do  hereby  petition  the   county   superintendent   of county   to 

visit  this  community,  to  investigate  the  needs  of  the  community,  to  make  ami  to  post  the  plats 
of  a  consolidated  school  district  in  this  community,  and  to  post  notices  of  a  special  school  meet- 
ing to  vote  on  the  organization  of  said  consolidated  school  district. 


Names. 


Names. 


This  form  will  be  used  by  the  county  superintendent  when 
calling  the  special  school  meeting: 

FORM   OF  SPECIAL  SCHOOL  MEETING   NOTICE. 

In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  an  act  of  the  Forty-seventh  general  assembly  oi  t In- 
state of  Missouri,  entitled  "An  act  to  provide  for  the  organization  of  consolidated  schools  and 
rural  high  schools,  and  to  provide  stale  aid  for  such  schools,  witli  an  emergencj  clause/'  notice 

is  herein-  given  to  the  qualified  voters  of  proposed  consolidated  disl  rid  No county  of 

state  "i  Missouri,  thai  a  special  school  meeting  of  said  proposed  consolidated  district  will  In- 
held  at .  .  .  .,  on.  .  .  .,  the.  .  .  .day  of.  .  .  . ,  191 .  . ,  commencing  at  two  o'clock  p.  in.,  and  t  he  fol- 
lowing things  will  be  considered: 

First:  To  organize  a  consolidated  school  district  in  this  community  with  boundaries  as 
laid  out  on  the  plats  posted. 

Second:  To  elect  six  school  directors  for  said  consolidated  school  district;  two  for  three 
years,  two  lot-  two  years,  and  two  for  one  year. 

Done   this   the.... day    of 191... 


County  Superintendent  of   Public  School 
24 


One  of  the  Six  Original  Schoolhouses  at  Cache  La  Poudre  School 
This  building  was  remodelled  at  a  cost  of  $700.00  and  transformed    into  a  fine  seven  room 
cottage  for  the  principal  of  the  new  consolidated  school. 

When  the  new  school  board  calls  an  election  to  vote  bonds  and 
purchase  school  site  it  should  use  the  following  form: 


FORM  OF  NOTICE  OF  SPECIAL  SCHOOL  ELECTION. 

Notice  is  hereby  given  to  the  qualified  voters  of  consolidated  school  district  No.  1,  of.  .  .  . 
county,  Missouri,  that  a  special  election  will  be  held  at  the  schoolhouse  in  said  consolidated 

school  district ,  on         ,  the day  of . . . .   191  -  . ,  polls  opening  at  7  a.  m.  and  closing  at  G 

p.  in.,  to  vote  upon  the  following  propositions: 

1.   To  authorize  the  school  board  to  issue  bonds  to  amount  of .  .  .  .thousand  dollars  I  v  I 

for  the  erection  of  a  central  school  building  and  the  purchase  of  a  central  school  site. 

.  To  select acres  of  land  located  (describe  land.  .  .  .as  a  shool  site  for  the  central 

school  building. 

Done  by  order  of  the  school  board  this.  .  .  .day  of .  .  .  .,  191 .  .. 


Secretary  of  School  Board. 


Sec.  4.  Transportation  -may  be  voted  on. — The  question  of  transportation  of  pupils 
may  be  voted  upon  at  a  special  meeting  above  provided  for,  if  notice  is  given  that  such  a  vote 
will  be  taken.  If  transportation  is  not  provided  for  in  any  school  district  formed  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  it  shall  then  be  the  duty  of  the  board  of  directors  to  maintain  an  element- 
ary school  within  two  and  one-half  miles  by  the  nearest  traveled  road  of  the  home  of  every  child 
of  school  age  within  said  school  district:  Provided  further,  that  if  transportation  is  not  pro- 
vided for,  any  consolidated  district  may  by  a  majority  vote  at  any  annual  or  special  meeting 
decide  to  have  all  the  seventh  grade  and  the  eighth  grade  work  done  at  the  central  high  school 
building,  provided  fifteen  days'  notice  has  been  given  that  such  vote  will  be  taken.  Such 
seventh  and  eighth  grade  work  at  the  central  school  may  be  discontinued  at  any  time  by  a 
majority  vote  taken  at  any  annual  or  special  meeting. 

9* 


If  transportation  at  public  expense  is  not  provided,  it  will  in 
most  instances  become  impossible  to  abandon  all  the  small  schools, 
because  the  district  must  maintain  an  elementary  school  within  a 
walking  distance  of  not  more  than  two  and  one-half  miles  of  every 
child  of  school  age.  This  section  does  not  alone  require  two-thirds 
of  the  voters,  but  two-thirds  of  the  voters  who  are  tax  payers. 

Sec.  5.  Parts  of  districts  remaining  after  consolidation — procedure. — Whenever 
by  reason  of  the  formation  of  any  consolidated  school  district  a  portion  of  the  territory  of  any 
school  district  has  been  incorporated  in  the  consolidated  district,  the  inhabitants  of  the  remain- 
ing parts  of  the  districts  shall  proceed  in  accordance  with  section  10882,  providing  for  the  an- 
nexation to  city  school  districts  and  the  consolidated  district  shall  be  governed  by  the  same  pro- 
visions as  govern  city  school  districts  in  such  cases.  The  inhabitants  of  the  remaining  parts  of 
the  districts  may  also  annex  themselves  to  any  other  adjoining  district  or  districts  by  riling  a 
petition  asking  to  be  so  annexed  with  the  clerk  or  clerks  of  the  district  or  districts  to  which  they 
desire  to  be  annexed  and  by  also  filing  a  copy  of  all  such  petitions  with  the  clerk  of  the  county 
court. 

Sec.  6.  Settlement  of  property — original  districts  to  continue — how  long. — 
Whenever  any  consolidated  district  is  organized  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  the  original 
districts  shall  continue  until  June  30th,  following  the  organization  of  said  consolidated  district, 
and  at  that  time  all  the  property,  money  on  hand,  books  and  papers  of  the  school  districts  whose 
schoolhouse  sites  are  included  within  said  consolidated  district  shall  by  the  officers  of  aforesaid 
districts  be  turned  over  to  the  board  of  directors  of  the  consolidated  district,  and  also  all  bonds 
outstanding  against  the  aforesaid  districts  shall  become  debts  against  the  consolidated  district. 
The  division  of  property  and  money  on  hand  in  case  school  districts  are  divided  by  the  forma- 
tion of  any  consolidated  district  shall  be  governed  by  sections  10839  and  10840. 

The  State  Superintendent's  interpretation  of  Sections  5  and 
6  is  as  follows: 

These  sections  provide  that  the  boards  of  directors  of  the  original  districts  shall  continue 
until  June  30th  following  the  formation  of  the  consolidated  school  district.  Such  boards  of 
directors  continue  only  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  business  already  begun  in  the  original 
districts.     They  have  no  power  to  make  any  contracts  extending  beyond  June  30th. 

At  any  time  after  its  organization,  the  board  of  directors  of  the  consolidated  district  has 
power  lo  call  a  meel  ing  for  t  he-  purpose  of  voting  bonds  for  t  he  erect  ion  of  a  central  school  build- 
ing   or   older    needed    buildings. 

In  the  event  a  consolidated  districl  is  organized  between  the  date  of  the  annual  school 
meeting  and  June  30th,  the  board  of  directors  of  the  consolidated  district  must  on  June  HOth 
assume  all  the  contracts  made  by  the  boards  of  the  original  districts  prior  to  the  organization 
of  the  consolidated  district.  Only  such  contracts  as  are  in  writing  should  be  assumed.  Copies 
of  all  such  contracts  must  be  delivered  by  the  boards  of  directors  of  the  original  districts  to  the 
board  of  directors  of  the  consolidated  district. 

Sec.  7.  State  aid — when  granted — how. — Whenever  a  district  organized  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act  has  secured  a  site  of  not  less  than  five  acres  for  the  central  high  school 
building  of  said  district  and  has  erected  thereon  a  school  building,  suitable  lor  a  central  school 
and  containing  one  large  assembly  room  for  the  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  the  district  and  has 
installed  a  modern  system  of  heating  and  vent  il  at  ing.  the  state  shall  pay  one-fourth  of  the  cost  of 
said  building  and  equipment,  provided  the  amount  thus  paid  by  the  state  shall  not  exceed 
two  thousand  dollars  ($2,000.00)  for  any  one  district.  The  state  of  Missouri  shall  out  of  the 
general  revenue  fund  of  the  state  make  adequate  appropriation  for  carrying  Out  the  provisions 
of  this  section  and  the  money  due  any  district  shall  be  remitted  by  the  auditor  to  the  county 
treasurer  of  the  proper  county  on  receipt  of  a  certificate  from  the  state  superintendent  of  pub- 
lie  schools  stating  that  the  conditions  herein  prescribed  have  been  complied  with. 

26 


The  purpose  of  this  section  is  to  encourage  the  community 
to  erect  real  farmers' schools  in  large  areas  of  ground  to  be  used 
for  experimental  purposes.  Before  any  aid  can  be  granted  the 
district  must  provide  a  building  satisfactory  to  the  state  depart- 
ment of  education;  it  must  maintain  at  least  two  years  of  approved 
high  school  work;  and  must  give  an  approved  course  of  one  year 
in    agriculture. 

Sec.  8.  Special  state  aid  granted — when — how. — When  a  consolidated  district  has 
been  organized  as  herein  provided  and  has  provided  adequate  buildings  for  school  purposes, 
the  state  shall  grant  a  special  aid  of  twenty-five  dollars  ($25.00)  per  year  for  each  square  mile 
or  fraction  thereof  in  the  area  of  said  district:  Provided,  the  district  maintains  an  approved 
high  school  of  at  least  the  third  class  and  gives  an  approved  course  of  at  least  one  year  in  agri- 
culture; and  provided  fdrther,  that  no  district  shall  receive  more  than  eight  hundred  dollars 
per  year  under  the  provisions  of  this  section.  The  State  of  Missouri  shall  out  of  the  general 
revenue  fund  of  the  state  make  adqeuate  appropriation  for  carrying  out  the  provisions  of  this 
section.  The  money  herein  provided  shall  become  due  on  June  30th  of  each  year  and  the 
district  clerk  shall  on  or  before  June  30th  make  application  to  the  county  clerk  for  the  aid  due 
his  district  and  the  county  clerk  shall  certify  these  applications  to  the  state  superintendent  of 
public  schools,  who  shall  approve  them  and  certify  to  the  state  auditor  the  amount  due  each 
district  under  the  provisions  of  this  act.  The  state  auditor  shall  draw  his  warrant  on  the 
state  treasurer  for  the  said  amount  and  remit  to  the  treasurerof  the  proper  county. 

This  section  makes  it  possible  to  obtain  state  aid  even  though 
the  school  may  not  have  the  five  acres  of  ground  mentioned  in 
section  7. 

Sec.  9.  Emergency. — On  account  of  the  immediate  need  of  consolidated  schools  and 
rural  high  schools,  there  is  created  an  emergency  within  the  meaning  of  the  Constitution;  there- 
fore, this  act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and  after  its  passage  and  approval. 

A  sum  of  $50,000  was  appropriated  to  meet  this  emergency 
for  the  biennial  period  ending  December  31,   1914. 


UN:  _  FOR' 

LO  ELES.  CALIF, 


X 


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